


happy birthday, mags

by eggborle



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, everything i write is gay, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-13 21:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13579392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eggborle/pseuds/eggborle
Summary: Magnus had stopped truly celebrating his birthdays years ago. He might go out with some friends, but after four hundred years it didn’t really matter to him. This year especially, his only plans were to stay in and eat an entire cake his friend had brought him. Then he wouldn’t have to think about him.





	happy birthday, mags

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday stela!! i hope you like this and ur birthday is great!

Magnus had stopped truly celebrating his birthdays years ago. He might go out with some friends, but after four hundred years it didn’t really matter to him. This year especially, his only plans were to stay in and eat an entire cake his friend had brought him. Then he wouldn’t have to think about him.

He was the reason Magnus was feeling more down than usual. To be fair, it wasn’t completely the other man’s fault. They had both made mistakes. They had both said things they shouldn’t have. They had both fucked up.

Magnus still thought about him. He still found his things in his apartment. An almost empty bottle of shampoo he had forgotten to bring with him when he left, a shirt that was slightly too big for Magnus that he pulled on before bed, a drink far too bitter for Magnus’ tastes left behind in the back of the fridge.

He should be used to finding these random things scattered all over, but every single time felt like a slap in the face. He would always be filled with the same sense of longing he had felt in those first few weeks after the breakup. It was an overwhelming amount of sadness, desperation and missing him all in one. It was far too much emotion for one heart to contain.

In an attempt to forget about him, Magnus made his way to the kitchen. One of his closest friends, Catarina Loss, had portalled in from Paris to bring him some expensive French delicacies that he told her he didn’t need. She ignored him, obviously, and offered to stay and spend time with him.

“No one should be alone on their birthday,” she had insisted.

Magnus had just smiled at her. “I’m too busy being sad.”

“I know. That’s just another reason why you shouldn’t spend today alone.”

“Go back to France. Really, it’s fine. Besides, I’m sure you have someone waiting for you. A french lady, perhaps?” Magnus asked before teasing her in a terrible accent, “Oh, paint me like one of your-”

Cat had smacked him lightly on his shoulder. “Okay, I’m going!”

Since then, he had just moped around and responded to texts wishing him a happy birthday with fake enthusiasm. He appreciated it, he really did, but Magnus wasn’t in the mood. He already had to go to a “surprise” party the next day that Dot had accidentally told him about. Just thinking about it was draining enough.

Now, however, he was slicing up his dessert and places two pieces on his plate. Magnus had his cake and he was going to eat it, too.

Approximately four episodes of some ridiculous reality show about weddings and three drinks later, the buzzer to his apartment went off. Magnus assumed it was someone coming to ask for his assistance and went over to it ready to turn them down.

“If this is someone looking for my help, then you might as well leave right now. I’m not interested.” He hadn’t meant to sound so rude, but he’d already said it.

There was the faint sound of breathing through the speaker and then nothing. Magnus figured the person had given up and left and began to walk away, but a voice came through a moment later.

He knew that voice. He would know it anywhere.

“Uh, not exactly,” the voice started. Magnus paused and exhaled deeply. “I know you probably don’t want to see me and I’ll understand if you want me to leave, but I wanted to talk to you. Can I come in? It’ll only take a second, I swear.”

He did not want to deal with this. Not tonight, not ever. “No. I- no.”

Magnus heard a sigh and then a resigned voice. “Okay. I understand. Happy birthday, Mags.”

Of course he had remembered. “Wait!”

“Yeah?”

“Come in,” Magnus said, pressing the button that would allow him to enter.

A few minutes passed and it was obvious he was going slower than necessary to avoid the inevitable. Magnus was grateful for the moment to prepare himself. He adjusted the collar of his shirt and ran a hand through his hair before placing his arms by his sides.

When the gentle knock on the door finally sounded through the apartment, almost too quiet to be heard above the volume of the television, Magnus began to feel self-conscious. He was wearing a loose-fitting T-shirt and a pair of black leggings. He hadn’t even bothered to put any makeup on as he hadn’t been expecting any visitors.

The door opened and a broken heart could be found on either side. Magnus with his torn out from the inside out and ripped apart until it was almost unrecognizable, making him cold and unapproachable. And Alec’s, oh Alexander, split into pieces and shattered, leaving the pieces left on his sleeve, emotions open for anyone to see.

They glanced at each other with wide eyes, taking in as much as they could about the other based on appearance. The first thing Magnus noticed was the dark circles underneath Alec’s eyes, standing out next to the striking shade of blue of his irises. The younger man had always worked himself too hard and it must have finally caught up with him. Or had he not been sleeping? The thought of him staying up at night, wondering about what went wrong, was too much for Magnus to bear.

Alec also first noticed Magnus’ eyes but it was for a completely different reason. They were glamoured into a deep shade of brown, beautiful but not his. He had never used his glamour around him after a few weeks into dating and even though they had broken up a few weeks ago, it still stung to know that Magnus didn’t feel comfortable around him anymore.

Neither of them knew what to say, leaving a moment of awkward silence brewing between them. Suddenly Magnus was glad he’d already had some drinks. He would need them. 

“Your eyes-,” Alec finally started, speaking the first thought that came to mind.

Magnus quirked an eyebrow. “Is that why you came here? To talk about my eyes?”

“No, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I even said that.” He considered his words. “I came because I miss you. A lot. And I want you in my life again.”

“You really hurt me, Alexander.” 

Alec nodded. “I know. And I'm so sorry. I’ll do anything to make it up to you. Just tell me what I can do.”

“Well, right now can you just stay for a bit?” 

“Of course.” Alec breathed out a sigh of relief. “I don't know what I would have done if you had kicked me out. I never actually thought that far ahead, to be honest.” 

Magnus let out a soft laugh. “I guess you know me too well. I could never have kicked you out. Not like this. Who knows, though? I may surprise you.” 

And Magnus did surprise him. He surprised him when he sat close enough to Alec that their fingers brushed. He surprised him when he intertwined their hands, the feeling of his rings cold against Alec’s skin. He surprised him when he pressed his lips to the corner of Alec’s mouth and drew the other man near. 

The biggest surprise, however, was when at the end of the night, Magnus took him by the hand and lead him towards his room, their room, and whispered “stay.” All night, they held onto each other as tight as possible, trying to make up for the lost time. And if in the morning they made up for it in … different ways, well, who could blame them? 

They might not have forever, but they would make the time they had enough.


End file.
